Ecological and Quantitative Genetics of Growth and Growth Plasticity

生长和生长可塑性的生态和数量遗传学

• 批准号: 9407844
• 负责人: Stevan Arnold
• 金额: $ 11.5万
• 依托单位: University of Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-03-01 至 1998-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9407844&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Ecological; Quantitative; Genetics; Growth; Plasticity

Arnold 9407844 This project explores the nature of variation among different populations of the mountain dusky salamander along an elevational cline in the southern Appalachian mountains. Two populations that have been studied show pronounced differences in many life history characters such as body size, egg size, and clutch size. Such patterns are extremely common in a wide diversity of animals, but ecologists know surprisingly little about the underlying reasons for this clinical variation. Previous work suggests that the early life stages of these salamanders seem to be the most sensitive to variation in local habitats. For example, the harsh winters of high elevation sites are thought to exact a far more severe toll on larval growth rates than low elevations sites. The goal of this study is to rigorously study the possible ways in which these differences in the habitat may contribute to the overall patterns that have been observed. Concomitantly, it will be possible to critically explore various ways in which the salamanders are moved between habitats, after which their growth will be monitored in each habitat. In general this work will be of interest to biologists who will study clinical variation. One potential applied use of this research is to understand how organisms such as these salamanders will respond to global warming. This is, by studying the ways in which salamanders have already responded to clinically varying temperature and habitat differences, it will be possible to gain insights into the more general issue of how warmer and drier climates will influence the survival and distribution of many species. This information, in turn, is highly relevant to attempts to manage biological diversity in the richly diverse southern Appalachians, much of which is held in the National Parks and National Forests.

阿诺德9407844 这个项目探讨了在阿巴拉契亚山脉南部沿沿着一个海拔梯度的山地暗色蝾螈的不同种群之间的变异性质。 已研究的两个种群在许多生活史特征上表现出明显的差异，如身体大小、卵大小和窝卵数。 这种模式在多种多样的动物中非常常见，但生态学家对这种临床变异的根本原因知之甚少。 先前的研究表明，这些蝾螈的早期生命阶段似乎对当地栖息地的变化最敏感。 例如，高海拔地区的严冬被认为对幼虫生长率的影响比低海拔地区严重得多。 本研究的目标是严格研究这些栖息地差异可能有助于观察到的整体模式的可能方式。 与此同时，将有可能严格探索蝾螈在栖息地之间移动的各种方式，之后将在每个栖息地监测它们的生长。 一般来说，这项工作将是感兴趣的生物学家谁将研究临床变异。 这项研究的一个潜在应用是了解这些蝾螈等生物将如何应对全球变暖。 也就是说，通过研究蝾螈已经对临床变化的温度和栖息地差异做出反应的方式，将有可能深入了解更普遍的问题，即温暖和干燥的气候将如何影响许多物种的生存和分布。 这一信息，反过来，是高度相关的尝试，以管理生物多样性在丰富多样的南部阿巴拉契亚山脉，其中大部分是在国家公园和国家森林。